(All DVDs and Blu-ray discs that are mentioned in this article hit store shelves on Tuesday, February 2nd. All theatrical films mentioned here will be released in theaters on Friday, February 5th, 2010!)

THIS WEEK’S NOTABLE DVD & BLU-RAY RELEASES:

House of the Devil [VHS, DVD, & Blu-ray] – A college sophomore named Samantha takes up a babysitting job for a creepy couple. Soon after accepting the job, she finds herself trapped in the middle of nowhere, in a creepy house, on the night of a lunar eclipse. It turns out that Cain from Robocop 2 (Tom Noonan) and his wife are going to sacrifice Sam in a Satanic ritual, so now she must fight her way out of the “House of the Devil!” The Blu-ray and DVD both come with two feature-length commentaries featuring writer / director / editor Ti West and other cast and crew, a theatrical trailer, deleted scenes, and two making-of featurettes. Also, if you’re in a nostalgic “retro” sort of mood, you can pick up the DVD / VHS combo of the film. (This has to be like the first new VHS title in what? Six or seven years?! Craziness!)

Ong-Bak: Thai Warrior [Blu-ray] – Tony Jaa’s debut film impressed the Hell out of the world and is now in the high-def format! A young man named Ting travels to Bangkok to retrieve the stolen head from his village’s sacred statue. Along the way he engages in the most amazingly choreographed fight scenes to ever be filmed and crushes one opponent after another with his lightning fast knees and elbows! The Blu-ray is pretty much only coming out to go with the new sequel and has all the same extras as the old DVD release. Extras include: Live Tony Jaa And Stuntman Performance, The Movements Of Muay Thai, featurette, French Rap Music Video With Tony Jaa, Making Of Music Video, and B-Roll (Taxi Stunts, Legs Ablaze Fight Sequence, Arena Fight Sequence).

Ong-Bak 2: The Beginning [DVD & Blu-ray] – Since this Tony Jaa flick didn’t see a wide theatrical release, I had to procure a copy through other means. While it isn’t as good as the original film or Tony Jaa’s 2005 epic, Tom-Yum Goong (a.k.a. The Protector), this “sequel/prequel” has a healthy dose of martial arts battles amidst its somewhat confusing plot. Blu-ray and two-disc special edition include these extras: HDNET: A Look at ‘Ong-Bak 2′, multiple making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a sneak peek at footage from the upcoming Ong-Bak 3, interviews with Tony Jaa and the rest of the cast and crew, and finally, the international theatrical trailer.

Planet Hulk [DVD & Blu-ray] – Iron-Man, Doctor Strange, and several of Earth’s other heroes decide to put Hulk on a spacecraft and send him to a distant, deserted planet because he keeps causing too much trouble on Earth. Their plans go awry when Hulk trashes his ship and crash-lands on a planet called Sakaar where he becomes a gladiator and eventually the savior/king of the fragmented peoples of Sakaar. This incredibly fun animated film stays close to its source material and is a must have for anyone that’s a fan of the Incredible Hulk! The Blu-ray and two-disc special edition DVD include the following extras: Two audio commentaries, music videos, two making-of featurettes, two motion comics, “Wolverine vs. Hulk” episode from “Wolverine and the X-Men,” and a sneak peek at the opening sequence from Thor: Tales of Asgard!

Universal Soldier: Regeneration [DVD & Blu-ray] – Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren return in this sequel, which pits “Unisol” vet Luc Devereaux against his old nemesis and another new unstoppable soldier. It sounds terribly cheesy, but I like the other Universal Soldier flicks (guilty pleasures) so I’d readily give this one a chance. The DVD and Blu-ray contain an audio commentary with star Dolph Lundgren and director John Hyams and “Behind the Lines” featurette.

Zombieland [DVD & Blu-ray] – Easily one of the best horror / comedies I’ve ever seen, Zombieland is an amazingly fun film and I can’t recommend it enough. The Blu-ray boasts an audio commentary with the cast, director, and writers, an exclusive “Behind the Graveyard” behind-the-scenes picture-in-picture track, deleted scenes, PS3 Wallpaper, MovieIQ (trivia?), and several making of featurettes. The DVD has pretty much the same extras except that (according to Amazon) it contains a special feature entitled “Woke Up Dead Episode “Up and At ‘Em” that does not appear to be on the Blu-ray. Weird….

[]
THIS WEEK’S CULT BLU-RAY RELEASES:
Doctor Who: The Complete Specials
Doctor Who: The End of Time, Parts 1 & 2
Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Hellboy: Sword of Storms & Blood and Iron
* House of the Devil
The Man from Earth
*Ong-Bak: Thai Warrior
* Ong-Bak 2: The Beginning
Pan’s Labyrinth
* Planet Hulk
Spiral
* Universal Soldier: Regeneration
* Zombieland

THIS WEEK’S CULT DVD RELEASES:
Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Vol. 3
The Dead Sleep
The Delightful Forest
Doctor Who: The Complete Specials
Doctor Who: The End of Time, Parts 1 & 2
Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars
Dragonball: Season 3
G.I. Joe – The Real American Hero: Season 1.3
The Good Sisters
Heroes Shed No Tears
* House of the Devil (VHS & DVD Bundle!)
The Limb Salesman
* Ong-Bak 2: The Beginning (Single disc & Two-disc Widescreen Collector’s Edition)
* Planet Hulk (Single disc & Two-disc Special Edition)
Ramen Fighter Miki
She-Wolf of London: The Complete Series
Skull Man: Complete Collection
TCM Greatest Films Collection: Sci-Fi Adventures
* Universal Soldier: Regeneration
The Wolf Man (Universal Legacy Series – Special Edition)
Wolverine & The X-Men: Fate of the Future
* Zombieland

THIS WEEK’S NEW THEATRICAL RELEASES:
Ugh! Week two of absolute nothingness! Hurry up February 12th; I want to see The Wolfman!

We slip back into a comatose state next week with a dismal display of DVDs and Blu-ray discs: The Running Man and The Phantom make their Blu-ray debuts while the Dante’s Inferno anime makes a splash as the only seemingly worthwhile NEW release to digital home video. (Note: The totally awesome-looking Dante’s Inferno video game streets on 02/09!) The good news though is that Universal is finally releasing The Wolfman in theaters after months of setbacks and release date changes! I’m just hoping that it is as good as it looks, but how can it possibly be bad with such an astounding cast (Hugo Weaving, Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins) and makeup and effects by legendary Rick Baker?! Well that’s it for this week b-movie fans; check back next Tuesday for your next weekly dose of the B-Movie Film Vault Genre Watch! – Vault Master